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, a supermarket that's done phenomenally well over here in the UK, brought out its own Android tablet a few months back. Called the Hudl it's performed OK. No doubt this is what has prompted Tesco to announce that it's going to make its own smartphone (when I say 'make', by all means read 'get someone else to make and put its own brand on it).

To put it in context: this is not like he widespread (but unconfirmed) reports that Amazon will be offering its own phone. That company is an established tech giant and its success with the Kindle platform in its various flavors is beyond doubt.

This is a little more like Wal-Mart (which actually owns another British supermarket but never mind) offering its own-brand high-end smartphone. It is not going to be a lifestyle statement like an I-can-afford-an-iPhone phone (note to flamers before the comments start: I've been using iPhones happily for years and plan to continue, but I do acknowledge they're not cheap), nor is it a 'Samsung has been a tech specialist for decades and this looks great' phone. Tesco specialises in the ordinary and cost-effective.

So why release something as complex as a phone into such a crowded market?

There are two possible answers. One has to do with the technology and the other is a business decision. To deal with the technology first: people have high expectations of it these days. They go into the High Street and they see consumer tablets, they see phone shops and they imagine making the technology is considerably simpler than it actually is. So if someone is selling tablets and no phones, they may wonder why. Is there something wrong with the tablets that they can't be shrunk and used to make calls? People wanting a matching set won't be able to get one if the company doesn't offer handsets. It's nowhere near as straightforward as that in real life of course, and if Tesco wants to sell the phones exclusively through its own stores (as it does with the Hudl) then there's going to be an issue when the carriers want to sell them in theirs. But that's contractual rather than technical.

In business terms the deal was probably an easy sell internally. "There will be new phones next year and if we don't put our name on them someone else will", I imagine the conversation went. When I started as a journalist my boss published a magazine, Computer Shopper, and then released a direct competitor, Computer Buyer; asked why he'd done this he said, simply, someone was going to make a load of money by releasing a competitor, and it might as well be him. I suspect this was the case when it comes to Tesco's phones.

Indeed, it already sells other people's phones, either on contract or not, but these are from established brands. "Mobile producers like Samsung, , Apple and Sony have spent years developing high-tech devices, that include a long list of features to accommodate even the most demanding tech users out there," says Dr. Markos Zachariadis of Warwick Business School. "Breaking into that category directly and gaining the slightest market share is going to be very difficult for new starters like Tesco.”

Another key point is that Tesco has traditionally sold on price (and has taken a hit with dedicated cut-price supermarkets launching in the UK in recent years). This branding will sit uneasily with high-end smartphones. If it's hoping that the small business market or any other part of business will be drawn to it on the grounds of the brand name, it's going to get a shock.

It's ironic that this announcement comes just as rumors of the Amazon offering kicked in, and meanwhile the Apple v. Samsung lawsuit came to an uneasy and uneven end. Tesco may find it's entering an overcrowded market just as another major new entrant joins the fray and the conflict stops distracting two established leaders.

I've no doubt someone has sat down with a spreadsheet and concluded that this will work, and I've no reason to suspect they're wrong. I just can't work out why anyone would want one of these - and that's before it even exists.

The author amended this article on 7 May to reflect that the Amazon phone had been widely reported but not confirmed.